


Razzle Dazzle

by LibertinePast



Category: Cobra Kai (Web Series), Karate Kid
Genre: Angst and Feels, Attraction, M/M, Sexual Frustration, lawrusso
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:13:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26146186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LibertinePast/pseuds/LibertinePast
Summary: Daniel slouches home after being outshined at Valley Fest, unable to forget about Johnny's fiery finale.  He takes matters into his own hands, and Johnny tries to absolve his own guilt.
Relationships: Amanda LaRusso/Daniel LaRusso, Daniel LaRusso/Johnny Lawrence
Comments: 21
Kudos: 154





	Razzle Dazzle

Daniel could squint at things in California and see mirages of the East. Maybe even the Far East, but sometimes he needed to go to a place without karate.

When the LaRussos trudged back to the car the night of Valley Fest, Daniel wanted to go _home_ -home. He tuned out everything but the bright lights of the rides, and he was on Coney Island. His bony, slumped frame was being carried to the car and he could feel that spun-sugar softness of Pop’s hair on his face.

California always pissed its excess all over anything special. The Cobra Kai circus tonight was no different. Sunset Strip hair metal, smoke machines, pyrotechnics, scrawny kids dragged out of the crowd and into the flashy fray. And people said Jersey was loud.

“The end of the line” wasn’t just his mother’s joke. Rejection reigned around here, every damn day. He couldn’t even say he was surprised when the lights cut out on stage.

Something bigger, brighter and better always found a way of dulling your shine in California. Someway, somehow. Maybe sometimes you deserved it. 

The whole ride home was silent. Robby was guiltily imagining himself on the opposite stage, catching girls’ underwear. Sam was trying to think of ways to console Daniel. _You were like Springsteen up there, and we’ll always be your Gi Street band._

There wasn’t even talk about the Cobra Kai beach towel that Anthony had caught. 

They pulled up on the stone pavers at their Spanish mission house, Amanda at the wheel. Daniel scratched his chest under the gi lapels, his left foot tapping until his knee ached. He'd slumped in the passenger side at the park, and she didn’t question it. Although he was sober, he was far from clear-minded. 

She was always one to try to decode LaRusso silence, defusing it with it a one-liner and a fresh outlook, but even she was hanging back. For Daniel, there was more going on than embarrassment or loss. She wasn’t sure what it was, but its presence in the cabin of the car was much thicker than the air.

Sam said her goodnight in the foyer, but forgot all her rehearsed encouragement about their presentation being just as great. A part of her wanted Miyagi-Do to stay in the shadows, and maybe tonight would secure that.

Anthony handed Daniel the towel at the foot of the stairs. “Heerre,” he groaned. “I know you’re not gonna let me keep it, cause it’s an eyesore, and probably made in a sweatshop by kids my age...” he recited.

Daniel felt like a crusty, spittle-flying principal. He looked down at the towel with crooked lips, and re-folded it. It was actually very plush. “Look, as long as we just wash it in hot water first…” 

“Badass! I’d seriously go to the beach with a girl-magnet like this under my butt. G’night,” he grinned, and clomped up the stairs after Sam.

Robby hesitated closely and Amanda lingered at the entryway table where she’d tossed the keys. Two sets of green eyes full of concern were gouging him, and he clutched the beach towel. “Mr. LaRusso, when the rush from tonight wears off, he’ll feel bad about what he did. He always does, eventually.” 

“It wasn’t directed at you. And I guess...putting aside the fact that he’s an overgrown kid who can’t wait his turn, there’s no denying they put on a hell of a show.” 

“It was very…Dad,” Robby sighed.

“Yeah…” Daniel bit his lip and got lost in the pattern of the floor, then blinked. “Why don’t you get to bed.” He patted his back. “Great flip over the bo.” 

“So do I get dibs on it this week?” 

“You’re stayin’ on the blocking side for now, but nice try.” 

When Robby retreated to his makeshift room in the dojo, Amanda’s arms surrounded Daniel from behind. She slipped her hands down the gi lapels, thinking about the way he’d commanded the bo. She’d hoped for a wardrobe malfunction on stage, but in the bedroom would work just as well. “Babe.. _._ I thought your demo was hot,” she exhaled on the delicate skin under his ear. “Stripped down, to the point. Minimalism is all the rage right now.” 

“Nyeah, I’m the Marie Kondo of karate.” 

“Oh, trust me, we’re gonna spark some joy. Come upstairs in five minutes. I have a surprise.” 

“Hon, it’s ok, you look beat. I ran you ragged setting everything up today, you don’--”

“Five minutes,” she stressed, with gentle suction on his neck. “I’ll make you forget all about Johnny Lawrence and his toxic pep rally.” 

“I-I’m a little dead in the water myself…” 

“All I just heard was _little death_ and something about being wet…?” she breathed, then left a kiss on his mouth that scrambled his vision when he opened his eyes. Then she simply started up the stairs, grinning.

“Alright,” he chuckled, completely red in the face. “Five minutes. By the way, your French teacher would be real proud of you not rememberin’ anything but ‘ _la petite mort.'_ ”

“It’s all the French I need,” Amanda giggled as she made her ascent, and Daniel realized he was still clutching the black and yellow beach towel.

He still had it draped over his arm when he went to get a Sam Adams out of the fridge, looking like a waiter at the club.

He slumped against the counter. What if he _hadn’t_ broken all six ice plates? It had been a while. Maybe getting yanked off the stage by the ol’ giant Vaudeville hook was...merciful.

“Jesus, stop justifying it!” he grumbled aloud to the dim kitchen, kneading his eye sockets.

He thought of Johnny approaching the blocks in the veil of smoke, staring them down like prey--

No. It was reckless. It could’ve gone horribly wrong. Cinder blocks could explode when they caught fire. Did he use porous blocks from a reputable contractor? No, probably not. He could’ve been seriously hurt.

Or...he would’ve just gotten back up, spit out the explosion shrapnel and roared, as the crowd went even crazier.

It took Daniel about five minutes to drink a quarter of the beer, his face scrunched up the whole time. He went upstairs. 

He opened the door of the master suite to find Amanda in a revealing nightie... face down in her pillow, snoring like she was sawing a cartoon log. She must’ve told herself she was just going to lie down for a minute. 

“...knew I ran you ragged, babe...” Daniel sighed, recalling the heavy boxes, the bonsai backdrop that wouldn’t cooperate, the multiple car rides to retrieve things from the dojo. He seriously considered waking her up, painfully aware of everything built up inside him right now.

He covered her tenderly with a blanket. There were other ways to relax.

He opened his drawer that was chock full of impulse-buy, novelty swim trunks. He picked the yellow ones with colorful hermit crabs all over them. His younger self, who would’ve thought of much better things to do with a hundred bucks, interrogated him about this often.

He headed downstairs, quite the vision in his festive trunks. He’d forgotten a towel, so when he saw the Cobra one slung on the kitchen island, he grabbed it with a shrug, its unwashed status forgotten.

  
  


* * *

The Cobras wrapped up the carnival coiled on picnic tables, eating funnel cakes and watching replays of their glory on tiny screens. Kreese had headed out already, calling tonight the best USO show he’d ever seen-- and he’d seen Ann-Margret in Cu Chi, so that was saying a lot.

“Anybody get a video of the Backyardigans' little dance recital?” Mitch asked, powdered sugar all over his chin.

Moon leaned over with her phone. “Demetri got the last part in a Snap.”

“Thank God it’s gonna disappear,” Hawk snickered.

Johnny was looking over their shoulders. 

Robby and Sam held their own against Daniel’s fluid bo swings. This was the first time he’d seen him without empty hands, and the bo moved like a branch smoothly extending from them. Johnny unconsciously nodded as it all came together. There were definitely some Chinese techniques fused in there, and Johnny wondered how varied the tapestry of Miyagi-Do was.

The kids were actually glued to it. “Why can’t _we_ get bo staffs?” Hawk grumbled.

"Cause when the AC's on the fritz, they'll slip out of our hands and Sensei will end up with no mirrors,” Miguel said earnestly. Johnny rolled his eyes in agreement--fucking Zarcharian. 

He watched the wide grin blaze across Daniel’s face as he reached his finishing stance, his eyes gleaming with pride at the cheers and applause. “ _And now for the grand finale.”_

He began to wheel out something that looked like it belonged in a magic show, and then the lights went out. “ _COBRA KAI!!!”_ roared in the background, and the Snap ended. The kids burst out laughing and Johnny looked at the ground.

“Aww, cliffhanger,” Mitch said. “Kudos to Sensei Kreese for hijacking the booth. Perfect cue, man.” 

Aisha’s glasses were fogging up from laughing so hard. “We might want to check if the real DJ is tied up in there or something.” 

Moon looked sullen. “I dunno, I’m still curious what the grand finale was.” 

“Probably jizzing all over the audience,” Hawk said.

“Alright, alright, enough,” Johnny cut into the laughter. “Why don’t we head out before you dweebs get the shits from all those funnel cakes?” 

One of the carnival workers approached the picnic area, wheeling the magician cart thingy from LaRusso’s act. “Hey. Do y’all know whose this is? It doesn’t belong to any of the vendors. It was sitting by the stage in a giant puddle.”

Johnny heard Hawk snicker loudly at that, and shot him a look. “Yeah, I know the moron who forgot it. I’ll get it to him.” 

He heard whispers behind him. _“Seriously?”_ / _“Yeah, catapult it.”_ The carnie dude nodded and started gathering up the trash. 

Moon examined the wooden slats on Daniel’s contraption, and picked up the last half-melted ice sheet. “Aw, he was gonna punch ice. That’s like...the _opposite_ of Sensei Lawrence’s finale, how deep is that?”

“Pff, probably rigged somehow,” Mitch said.

“Exactly, I bet he thawed out the sections at the calculated trajectory of his hand,” Hawk said. “O-or some shit.” 

“Yeah, and I used fake cinder blocks,” Johnny sighed.

Hawk looked startled. “You did?” 

“No! Just...can you guys make yourselves useful and help me get this popsicle stand in the car? Dry it off first--better not see a drop of water in my trunk.” 

“This big-ass thing is gonna fit?” Mitch shrugged. “Maybe we should try to take it apart.” 

Johnny swatted his hand. “Easy, Butterfingers, LaRusso’s sensei probably made this out of a five-hundred year old tree or something. I got some bungee cords, we’ll make it fit.”

They did it, the cart tied down with the trunk of the Challenger cracked. Aside, Miguel gave Johnny a weary smile. “Ending the night with a peace offering is the right thing to do, Sensei. I, um...low-key want Sam to know that crashing their show was all in good fun. More like a prank, right?”

“Yeah, man...just a prank,” Johnny said quietly.

“It’s just how we DO,” Miguel grinned with rapper flair.

When everyone had chest-bumped and arm-punched their goodbyes, Johnny sat in the Challenger, thinking of Daniel’s exhaling smile as he looked out into the crowd. 

A stage was different from an arena--the cheers barely reached you on the mat, in your tunnel vision of survival. Doing karate on a stage had lit up something in him that Johnny hadn’t seen before...and that smile was hitting hard, like a kidney strike from the bo. 

The guilt about pulling the plug on Robby reached him too, but that was for another night, another bottle.

Johnny didn’t know how long he sat in the car, his breath whistling in his nose, Daniel’s ghost in the passenger seat and on the inside of his eyelids. The carnival was almost blacked out except for the Gravitron, lights strobing down his cheeks.

* * *

  
  
  
  


Daniel slipped into the patio jacuzzi, teeth gritting from the heat at first, until he was completely at bubbling, drowsy peace. He was probably gonna fall asleep and boil himself like a crab--a least he’d give the coroner a laugh with his appropriate bathing suit.

He sighed, the nape of his neck resting on the rim of the tub. The stars were unusually bright for the Valley tonight. 

Something in the satisfied smile Johnny had given him from the stage took Daniel back to a day in Mrs. Wilder’s geometry class. “ _What is the hypotenuse?”_

_Johnny leaned back in his seat, his stark white Reeboks on top of the desk. “When I’m in this class and I wanna get high on pot and hang myself with a noose?”_

_“Lawrence, out!”_

Daniel sighed. He tried the same thing in his head: Lawrence, out. It didn’t have the same gusto as Mrs. Wilder.

Was Johnny wearing eyeliner up there? It would’ve fit the glamrock theme of the evening. Those blue eyes were the only thing you could see when the smoke enveloped the stage, before the cinder block...incident. Ha, see--ice _could_ outshine fire.

Daniel sunk down a bit. He thought about all the single moms at Valley Fest who’d flock to Cobra Kai now. Their non-athletic children would be burnt offerings in the name of their libidos. Leaning on the cubbies with their low-cut shirts, tossing their heads back with laughter at his offensive jokes. 

_“Would it be unprofessional if I asked you out?” Johnny would say, leaning in._

_“_ **_I_ ** _don’t work here,” the woman would grin._

_“That doesn’t mean I won’t put you to work, babe.”_

Daniel was turning green from this scenario, sinking lower, his nose still above the water, hissing. Before he knew it he was completely under, with a punishing grip on his breath. The lack of oxygen was doing nothing for the pressure building in his groin. One of the pulsing jets was right near it, making things worse, matching the thrashing of his heart.

He could still see the blue stars in the sky, his muddled vision not obscuring them at all. 

He pushed off the floor and surfaced, the sound of his own quick breathing a horrible turn-on in itself. He wondered what Johnny would think of this devil’s cauldron of self-loathing. _“It’s totally normal, Champ,” he smirked in his black gi. “People fantasize about rock stars all the time.”_

That stupid show, that dick-wielding, spark-flying, fire-punching shitshow was ruining his life. 

There was only one way to end this. 

Daniel rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. He couldn’t remember the guitar-screeching song that was playing during Johnny’s grand finale. As if some sort of jean-jacketed Alexa was on the case, Poison was dubbed into the memory. 

Of course, memory and fantasy began to blur. _All the students were gone. Johnny’s hair was sticking up and he parted his gi lapels, dancing with grinding hips as he approached the cinder block inferno._

Daniel’s hand was below the surface, slow and thorough. He'd have to change the water after this--

_Johnny chugged a whole beer and threw the bottle, pulled his neckline down further, then had a microphone close to his mouth with a breathy announcement. “I’d like to dedicate this heinously awesome feat to someone very special. You know who you are….and you’re alright.”_

_“_ HohhGod,” Daniel panted, trying to slow down, letting the water jets compliment the strokes. He’d never cared about _lasting_ during a...solo session until now. He wanted it to last. He tried not to make too many noises, but maybe these desperate little kiai could help him focus on not exploding.

_“More fire!” Johnny shouted, and the flames rose on command, flickering to the beat of Unskinny Bop. He tore off his sleeveless unagi and threw in in the blaze._

It was so good, so hopelessly, ridiculously perfect, and as he balanced on the edge, Daniel was sure he could sync his own finale to the fiery bricks crumbling at Johnny’s feet. As he stroked for dear life, _Johnny gave the fire that deep stare, pulled back, and blasted through the blocks, delts and biceps glistening with sweat, the fire disintegrating to embers in an instant._

Daniel didn’t cry out--he had no voice. He arched back with his head on the edge of the tub, bearing down on his bottom lip with hot tears of ecstasy. 

He lay there, eyelids heavy, tasting beer and chlorine. Breath after breath only felt like a hollow motion, hardly as satisfying as the fantasy. 

Slowly but surely, the guilt rushed in, and he slid limply under the water again, his reality more and more abysmal. He was there for what felt like a long time, his chest barely burning. Somewhere in the rush of water in his ears, he heard a voice calling out his last name.

Exhaling a storm of startled bubbles, he had no choice but to pop up.

Johnny was standing about a mat’s length away beside the pool. “Jesus fuck!!?” he jumped as Daniel spluttered out of nowhere like some sort of swamp ninja. Johnny didn’t want to seem _scared_ -scared, even though he’d just about had a heart attack.

“What the _hell_ are you doing here???” he coughed and winced.

“I-I brought back your little frozen taco stand, you left it on the fairgrounds. It’s in the car,” Johnny said, pointing towards nowhere as he scanned Daniel’s bare top half. “I...saw the lights on in the yard, and I know you don’t have a security system to speak of, so I just came on back.” 

“Oh, so returning my stuff is your half-ass way of saying you’re sorry?” 

“No,” Johnny stumbled. “I-I don’t know. I figured that thing was some sort of Japanese antique or something, so...”

“Uhh, no? It’s a kitchen cart from IKEA. I made the pergola on top, though, that holds the ice.”

“It’s pretty solid,” he nodded, then blinked. “—Why the hell were you underwater? Lose an earring, Princess?”

Daniel hadn’t made direct eye contact with him yet, and he saw a gut-twisting blue when he finally did. It made matters much worse that Johnny was still in his gi. “...I keep tellin’ my daughter not to put bath bombs in here—there was one stuck in the filter--” 

“What’s a bath bomb? Know what, nevermind, are you gonna get out of there at some point? It’s weird talking to someone in a tub.”

“Agreed.” With the weight and blurriness of the swirling water, not to mention being dead tired, he stood right up, forgetting that his dick was hanging out of the opening in the trunks.

Johnny’s mouth fell open. “Uhhhhh?!” He twisted himself painfully in the opposite direction.

“Oh God?!” Daniel was mortifyingly aware of it now and whipped around, adjusting away the wet tangle of flesh. “Not a word, do NOT say a word, Johnny, or I swear--” 

Johnny was still turned away with his hand plastered over his mouth, filling his palm with curses. He didn’t want to consider they were triggered by the...expanse of what he’d seen, even when it was flaccid. “Is it safe?”

Daniel grabbed a towel and when Johnny looked back, the Cobra Kai snake, of all things, was wrapped around his waist.

Johnny’s laughter was fiery, almost endearing from how high-pitched it was. “Nice swag. ”

“It’s not mine, alright? And my wife was just out here with me, for your information.” 

“Yeaah, real good time, and then she conveniently disappeared, huh? Amazing. Admit it, LaRusso, you were dehorning the narwhal.”

“Wh?--Tha-that’s not an expression I’ve ever heard in my entire life--”

“And you dunked yourself to muffle the holler and not wake the neighborhood.” 

“Oh, bullshit,” Daniel said, which wasn’t a lie. He’d done it to drown the afterglow. “Look, just haul my thing to the patio and I’ll take it from here.” 

“Oh, I’m sure you will.” 

Daniel ran a hand down his face at his wording. The Cobra Kai towel unfurled itself from his waist, and he wrapped it around his shoulders like a shivering kid. “You’re such an asshole. Y’know what...you wanted to show the whole Valley my karate sucks, well, you did it. Congratulations.” 

Johnny looked truly confused. That hadn’t been his intention at all. He thought about calling it a prank, like Miguel, but he knew that wasn’t it either. When it hit him, the words fell out of his mouth like punched teeth. “Why would I need to shut you down if you sucked?”

“...but? The blowtorches and the fireworks and the machismo—how could I compete with all that?“

“LaRusso, don’t you get it? I knew it would take a shitload of distractions to get the herd away from you.” 

Daniel’s eyes widened. All the razzle dazzle was to...compensate, not to make him look like a fool? The last inspiration for that spectacle he ever expected was a _lack_ of confidence. “...oh.”

“I mean, walking around with your dick hanging out and all, I figured you knew.” 

Daniel sighed, clutching the towel around his shoulders. “...you don’t need to hear this from me, but your show wasn’t just smoke and mirrors. The karate spoke for itself. You’ll get lots of new recruits. You earned them.”

Johnny shrugged. “I, um...s-so Robby, is he mad?”

“No. In fact, he was more concerned about you hating yourself in the morning.”

“Well...it’s not morning yet.”

“That it isn’t,” Daniel sighed, his eyes dimming from weariness.

Johnny finally noticed the little pink and green hermit crabs on Daniel’s trunks. He didn’t comment, considering the dorkiness belied what was underneath. His face twitched. “Look, I saw a video of your demo.”

“Oh, it hit VHS already? What did you think?”

“That you like playing with your stick.”

“For God’s sake—“

Johnny grinned. “Ok, seriously?...I mean, the kids were telegraphing like Western Union, but you’ve outgrown it at least. And did I detect a few Shaolin moves with the bo?”

Daniel hoped his enchantment didn’t show on his face as much as it was apparent in his chest. “Yeah….the Miyagis borrowed styles from all over the place.”

“I’ve never mined Kreese for any little history factoids about Cobra Kai. Maybe I should.” 

“I wouldn’t. The history will be that _you’re_ history if you don’t shut up and get back in line.” 

Johnny laughed softly, then cleared his throat. “...Listen, you should get inside. It’s getting cold. And besides, your wife disappeared. You really should follow up on that Dateline shit.”

“Jesus, Johnny--” 

“I gotta say, pretty interesting way you decided to blow off steam tonight. I mean, someone feeling upstaged and pissed doesn’t usually...you know. That’s what punching bags are for.”

Daniel blinked a few times. “It’s just been a long day.” 

“What was the longest part?” Johnny asked, his eyes flitting up and down Daniel so subtly, but with more weight than a tiny eye motion should have. 

“The walk to the car, I guess.” 

Johnny looked down at the weeds in the cracks of the travertine. “...You looked happy up there. You know. Until the...power outage.”

“The power outage, ookay,” he snickered. “That’s a pretty solid hint not to hold my breath for an apology.”

Johnny mumbled something unintelligible and looked down again.

And just like that, Johnny had a half-baked spark of an irresistibly dumb idea. Pulling the plug on Daniel had been tonight’s mission, and somehow he’d ended up in his yard, shooting the breeze, and preoccupied with what Daniel was shooting before he arrived.

The harder you tried to pull the plug on this little shit, the brighter he got.

Fuck it. 

It made about as much sense as anything else tonight.

Daniel steeled up, worried, because Johnny was making the hypotenuse face, and looking very pleased with himself.

“LaRusso…”

“Yeah…?” 

“My kids watch some dumb karate cartoon where big-eyed freaks are always yelling about ‘fusion’...”

“You sure it’s not _you_ who’s watching this?”

Johnny ignored him. “It’s got me thinking...what if nobody had to know tonight wasn’t two parts of the same demo?” 

“What?”

“Teach with me, Iceman.” 

The towel dropped off Daniel’s shoulders and he tried to find his jaw wherever it had landed. “Yeeah, ok, _very_ funny.”

“I’m serious as the mini-stroke you just had,” Johnny grinned. “It’ll freak everybody else out, too. Who gives a shit?”

“Uhh, you forgettin’ about _Kreese?_ I’d better have a bullet-proof vest under my gi.”

“Eh, he can take a hike. All he does is drink all my beer and tell the kids stories about Vietnamese hookers.”

Daniel was taken aback. “So...how exactly would I benefit from this?”

“You can work for free, just like you wanted, right? And we’ll be on _your_ turf. My rent’s pretty high, so…I get retribution for that, you get to do your little outreach program on my troubled, misguided kids,” he smirked. “Or at least give it your best shot.”

_That_ dangling carrot had his mouth hanging open again. The challenge was as tempting as Johnny knew it would be. “John…”

“And no exposing yourself.”

Daniel rubbed his eyes and took a long, grumbly breath. ” ….we’d have to be on the same page about, I dunno— _something_?”

“We’re on the same page about my...what did you call it? Blowtorch machismo?”

“That’s not what I said,” Daniel groaned, fighting the goofy smile that threatened to overtake his face.

“Look, just think about it for a few days. Lemme go get your little vegetable cart out of the car.” 

Daniel _had_ been cold this whole time, but it didn’t hit him until that minute or two of absence. 

Johnny wheeled the cart onto the patio, purposely hitting whatever bump he could find, and looked up to Daniel’s soft grin and heavy lids. 

Daniel chuckled. “I still can’t believe you thought this thing was some sort of heirloom or something.” 

“Well...I don’t know much about Miyagi, but...I know he took good care of things,” Johnny said quietly. 

They looked at each other, trying not to let the night air in too hard, too loudly. Trying to read what the other was thinking from the subtle change of a stance, the tightening of a neck muscle. Johnny searching for Daniel’s answer, Daniel wondering if Johnny knew that all his embarrassment about the hot tub incident had melted away. The space between goosefleshed skin and midnight gi got narrower.

The end of the line.

  
  


“...By the way, Yankee, your lip has been bleeding this whole time,” Johnny snickered, and before Daniel could start fussing over himself, Johnny reached out and slowly smoothed his thumb across his bottom lip.

  
  


For those few seconds, Daniel’s pulse in his ears was louder than hair metal and imploding concrete. His eyes projected every bit of what he’d been thinking about when he’d drawn the blood. Before he could brace himself, Johnny’s mouth was on his, cauterizing the little cut.

Johnny felt Daniel’s chest zinging against him as Daniel tried to hold his over-eager tongue back, Johnny’s teasing just enough to drag a sound from him. Johnny knew how to leave someone starstruck and frustrated all once, and Daniel finally knew that all the pomp and circumstance tonight had been for an audience of one. 

They pulled back gently, Daniel tasting copper and sugar. For the time being, he’d always be squinting at things and trying to see his own moonlit backyard.

“Goodnight,” Johnny winked as he backed away. “Think about it. And change that jacuzzi water.”

Daniel shook his head, sighing a laugh. The carnival map had lead him right to the snake oil wagon, and as jaded as he was, he believed in it.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
